The invention relates to the field of separable hook and loop-type fasteners that can be attached to synthetic resin molded articles. It relates more specifically to a fastener component that minimizes the fouling of the fastener elements with material to be molded, along with products incorporating such a fastener component, and methods of use thereof.
Hook and loop-type fasteners are in wide use for joining textile fabrics and various other items. For instance, it is known to attach one component of a loop and hook fastener to the surface of a foam cushion body and to attach the other component to a corresponding position on the back side of a cover material, fixing the latter on the cushion body by engagement of the two fastener components. In this method, one fastener component (typically the hook component) is attached to the cushion body surface by one of two methods. It is important to prevent the molding material from being forced into that region of the mold where the fastener component is held. Otherwise, it will foul the fastener elements (such as the hooks).
According to one known method, a non-woven fabric sheet is attached to the back side of a fastener strip with hook-like coupling elements. The fastener component is set within a mold by the use of an adhesive, and a foamable material is introduced into the mold for foaming the same therein. Alternatively, hook-like coupling elements of a fastener component may be associated with metal, such as a thin metal sheet, and may be fixed in a mold by magnetic attraction. A foamable material is introduced into the mold to fix the fastener component integrally on the molded body. In either case, a protective film may be introduced to seal the fastener components from the molding material.
Using an adhesive is often troublesome in addition to the difficulty in adjusting the fastener mounting position. On the other hand, covering the whole surface area of the hook-like coupling elements with a protective film prevents intrusion of the molding material into spaces between the individual coupling elements during the molding process. However, it involves a laborious job of applying the protective film and then removing it from the hook-like coupling elements after removal of the molded article from the mold. Additionally, the fastening force of the hook-like coupling elements is lowered by existence of unfused film residues in case of a film which is thermally fusible while foaming the molding material.
It is also known to provide a hook and loop-type fastener component to be attached to a plastic molding, which is constituted by: an elongated fastener strip having hook-like coupling elements on the nominal front side of a base; longitudinal edge portions void of the hook-like coupling elements and, provided along the longitudinal side edges of the fastener strip, a barrier member provided on the front side (the side of the hook-like coupling elements) of the longitudinal edge portion. The barrier may be a bunch of fiber or a synthetic resin material in a height not greater than twice the height of the hook-like coupling elements.
A draw-back of this barrier method is that a special, extra step or steps is required to fabricate the marginal barriers and to fix them to the fastener component and to remove them. Further, the molding material can still intrude along the edges that are not provided with the barriers.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a separable fastener component that can prevent intrusion of a molding material into the spaces between the individual coupling elements (typically hook-like elements) without requiring labor intensive steps of applying and removing a protective film, or of fabricating and applying a marginal barrier element. It is a further object to facilitate the manufacture of elements to which such a separable fastener component is attached, such as by molding. Another object is to provide molded articles with integral fastener components, without fouling the fastener elements of the fastener components with molding material.